How are people affording this lifestyle?

[AmusedTaupePlayer]

Just curious if anyone can shed liJust curious if anyone can shed light on this. I know a couple a few years older than me (late 20s/early 30s) living in Newton-le-Willows. He works as an admin/warehouse inventory clerk at some small frozen and she did not go to uni, she has no LinkedIn, never mentions any kind of work or side hustle.

And yet they’ve been on a couple of holidays in the last year, seem to eat out occasionally, and post pics of family days out etc. It’s not luxury by any means, but still — two kids and one modest income??

Are they just really good with money? Family help? Universal Credit top-ups?

Genuinely trying to understand how people make it work on paper when everything is so expensive these days.

The minted non-Uni people I know are builders/contractors/tradesmen. Fucking loaded. A few of them have 5 and 6 bed houses with several en suites, and massive gardens. Several holidays abroad every year, new cars, and a villa in Spain/Portugal/Greece. Several have retired at 52-55, and are living very nice lives. Really gets up some peoples noses that 'non educated' people who didn't even get a single A level are so well off and retire early! 😂

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My bets on OnlyFans 🙋‍♀️

Why don't you ask them OP? 🙄

This is SO true. I was in Banking for many years. Took a redundancy package and now I am self employed, doing a very menial kind of job. I have a few GCSE's, no A levels, but my job which looks quite menial from the outside, actually brings in about £4.5k a month (net). I have had a payment from my redundancy and an inheritance, both of which I paid to the mortgage, so my monthly payments are only £235. I am sure it might look perplexing to someone as to how we can take long haul holidays twice a year, but the devil is in the detail, isn't it?

The answers to this perennial and slightly dumb question are always the same:

They have more money than you.

Or they don't have more money, but are better with budgeting than you.

Another one here not on LinkedIn (thank goodness as apparently there are all sorts of weirdos on there who check up on you!) and don't have a degree, neither does DH but we have a 6-figure income between us that we've worked bloody hard for...........
Not far off our second holiday this year thanks to stupidly low Ryanair fares, and go to gigs/festivals too.

A friend of mine travelled all over the world and posted glamorous photos of herself and her international friends online.

I found out she was a professional girlfriend. Men were paying for her lifestyle. She did really well out of it. She was/is highly intelligent, extremely sociable and bilingual. She wasn’t pretty. It’s taken until my 40’s to realise that “pretty” doesn’t even factor in to make a guy want to spend money on you. You just have to be kind and interested in them.

Other people have family money - either new money or old money, someone I know is involved in the family enterprise which is rumoured to not be legal. I’ve known people who were broke working and then set up their own business and have been really successful.

In respect to the person you’re stalking - it’s highly likely they are on benefits and cutting back majorly in order to take trips away. Although, it’s more likely they have a side hustle whether legal or not (possibly not).

Newton Le willows must be fairly inexpensive for housing

If they're smart with money, it's doable

I know people are taking the piss a bit on this thread but @AmusedTaupePlayer i totally get it.

Mumset standards - we are on the higher end income wise as a family and I look at people all around me going on holidays abroad, eating out, private education and I wonder how they do it!!

I know we could budget better - I don’t budget at all which is my issue no doubt. Maybe they are really sensible walking round Lidl with a shopping list, batch cooking etc and that’s how they do it.

I just don't understand why having the income to eat out occasionally is a thing that needs explanation. It can be done for very little or nothing if you plan enough in advance and are judicious about it. They might be using Tesco vouchers to go to Hungry Horse once every 3 months! And lots of people who need to make cutbacks are still wanting to eat out but they'll order pasta not steak, just have one course, choose the offers.

There's literally a million side hustles you can do these days. They've probably got an ebay shop or something

This 🤣🤣🤣
I’m on LinkedIn and I’m poor. 😆

Exactly! There are all kinds of ways people can be doing well/having a nice life without being on bloody OnlyFans, or having a big inheritance, or a fraud of some kind.

There are a couple of reasons why me and DH are comfortable right now (we are both late 50s,) but it's naff-all to do with my DH's nosey work colleagues, and I'm not revealing it on here. It's not bloody OnlyFans, an inheritance, or fraud either! 😂

Who cares! Let them live their life and enjoy their money and their kids 🤣

Benefits probably. They may well claim disability for one or more of the kids. Then carers allowance. It all adds up.

I know people getting 3k a month on benefits which is way more than I earn working 🙈 and then their partner is self employed so earns on top and it possibly doesn't all go through the books. They have days out, cruises, new cars, nails done etc.

House rent/mortgage might be dirt cheap if its council housing or owned by family etc.

Obviously they might just budget and prioritise well though too.

I knew a family like this, parents both on low wages. The husband's parents bought them their new build house by paying in full, so they never have to worry about a roof over their heads. The husband's parents weren't massively wealthy, just middle class. Husband's dad was an engineer and mum worked in nurseries 🤷🏻‍♀️

My husband is a tradesman and will earn 7k this month, he doesn’t have LinkedIn. Neither do I after leaving a toxic job and wanting nothing to do with that sector anymore. No degree between us.

We spend about 10k on holidays most years and we have no mortgage. We are in our 30s, we don’t have a big house but it’s low maintenance.

Most people would have no idea we do any of these things as that money is spent on one holiday and they certainly don’t know we are mortgage free.

Stop being so nosey and jealous.

Exactly with the uni. And attending uni doesn’t guarantee a high paid position afterwards either. Plus someone who goes straight into the workplace at 17/18 has an additional 3 years earnings behind them.

And so many people work from home nowadays. Computer based work - could be doing anything at any pay level. People don’t necessarily volunteer their working circumstances unless specifically asked.

Do you think she's posting pictures of her frangipane on Only Frans? Or maybe she's a Drugs Lord running an empire of Narcos... Or maybe she's a Cat Burglar and while you sleep she's climbing rooftops and divesting grannies of their Emerald heirlooms, or maybe she shops at Aldi or Lidl and with the money she saves it gives her enough for a couple of holidays and a few nice dinners out. Or then again, she might be exiled Royalty loosening Diamonds from her Tiara and selling them one by one...

Maybe she is right wing with many friends...

Drugs, benefit top up, pimps
why does it matter to you how they live. Probably credit cards

Not on linked, on less than average income but go on holiday twice a year, multiple weekends away in uk. Not doing anything dodgy. I do a lot of overtime, and save, save, save. Hope this helps

I know a couple like this. Eastern European immigrants (only relevant because it adds to their achievement what with language barriers, total absence of networks in the UK etc)

She is a school dinner lady, obviously works term time only, he was employed as a labourer or delivering pizza at various times. They didn't go out much as they had no babysitters, I did offer but they never took me up on it. They bought an ex council house in a very rough area, then, a few years later they bought a much nicer house in a nicer area and kept the old house to rent out and as an investment for the kids to inherit.

We lost touch due to the kids going to different schools but I see them on Facebook having multiple holidays, one abroad and one in the UK each summer, she's showcasing expensive bags (could be copies) and all sorts.

I just have no idea how they do it but I wish I had their skills! Makes me laugh when people talk about scrounging immigrants.

Same, although they are 30s. Could retire tomorrow.